in the 11th congressional district which i represent in new york city, the new york city police department reported 274 victims from 226 incidents involving gun violence. and that was in two neighborhoods in the district that i represent. the majority of these crimes were registered in just two communities. 274 victims from 226 incidents. now, fortunately, not everyone perished in these incidents, but one incident leads to many and the repercussions and trauma to those who witnessed these incidents who dooged a bullet in our community, is immeasurable. we have the authority to focus our efforts on penalties for gun trafficking and unlawful sales of firearms. we have the authority to prevent the retail sale of assault weapons and high capacity magazines or clips designed for military combat use and we have the ability to register handguns and microstamp munitions to trace ownership and origin. we have the authority. we only need to have the courage to act. the newtown tragedy has highlighted a vexing issue that we as americans must address. it is imperative that we set aside our differences